MISSION REPORT – Easter Conference
2004
Brian Karcher, Detroit UBF (Wayne State University)
Key Verse: Hebrews 12:28
“Therefore,
since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and
so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”
Greetings from Jesus Christ our Lord! Greetings from Detroit, the most holy city in America. Does this sound strange to you? It probably does
since Detroit is known as the most dangerous city in America and as a center for Islam in North America. Just as you say “Holy Toledo”, we pray that one
day you may say “Holy Detroit”. We pray that Detroit may no longer be the most dangerous city in America, but the most holy city. As I write this report, I
first want to thank God who enabled us to have our first independent Sunday
Worship Service on February 8th, 2004. Our fellowship coworkers from Priestly Nation
fellowship joyfully attended. Since then, we have been encouraged by several
visits. Especially, S.Jeremy Holloway and Ryan Kostecky’s visit was inspiring.
I felt like one of the first century Christians as S.Jeremy and I walked
through Wayne State campus and invited students to Bible study. And the Good Soldier’s
attending our worship service recently encouraged us greatly. I was glad to see
all 12 of our chairs filled!
Since our wedding in 1994, God has been preparing
our family for this house church work. We believe the house church ministry is
God’s wisdom and God’s direction for the body of Christ. We believe this is how
UBF will be most effective for preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth.
May God make America a kingdom of priests and a holy nation through
many house churches.
First, spiritual life. For the past 16 years, God
has guided my personal spiritual life through many things. Two yearly practices
have helped me tremendously: a yearly key verse and yearly prayer topics. These
are two key spiritual disciplines I have learned and
imitated from Dr. Paul Hong. In 2004, it is no different. I first of all thank
God for steady spiritual growth over the years, primarily because of the
practice of holding one yearly key verse and remembering the work of God in
light of yearly prayer topics. This year, my key verse is Hebrews 12:28 “Therefore, since we
are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so
worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…” This verse has given me much strength. As the pioneering work begins,
my life seems very shaky at times. Sometimes questions creep into my heart. How
can the work of God take root on Wayne state campus when I am so weak? What can one
family really do in such a large campus and city? How can our children grow up
Godly and healthy in the most dangerous city in the US? But Hebrews 12:28 reminds me that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. My
heart finds the peace of God each time I remember this truth: The kingdom of God
cannot be shaken! We are vessels of clay that can be easily broken, but the kingdom of God
is unbreakable, unshakable and unstoppable.
There are also two directives in this key verse: be
thankful and worship God. This gives me clear spiritual direction. As a
fellowship leader in Toledo UBF, I prepared weekly messages and attended
worship service every Sunday. But I did not make thankfulness and worship part
of this message delivery. I usually approached the weekly message with a
burdened heart. I was always glad when M.Mark Yoo or S.Mark Ohashi would
deliver the message. Now in Detroit,
they are not there to take a turn to give message, so I must prepare and
deliver the Sunday message each week. Hebrews 12:28 helps me to repent and approach this task with
thankfulness and as an act of worship. In Detroit, my personal walk with God has been enriched
greatly through this one verse. I feel as though we are really building an
altar of prayer before God each Sunday. Though I am farther away from my
friends in Toledo, I am more thankful for their love, prayers and
support.
Second, family life. One of God’s great blessings in my life is to
establish a growing family with a most beautiful woman of God, S.Mary. God has
given us three wonderful, ambitious children: Ruth Barry, Anna Christine and
Noah Paul. And with God’s mercy, our fourth child will arrive in November.
Since moving to a new mission field, we have grown closer to each other and to
our children, who now see more clearly what their parents are doing in UBF
ministry. In Toledo, I sometimes heard
coworkers talk about a family worship service. I always wondered what good a
family worship service would do. Now, I enjoy our family worship Sunday morning
very much. I especially enjoy making a joyful noise to the Lord during
singspiration. After experiencing this, I would now recommend that every family
have a family worship service. Our children don’t complain at all about getting
up and dressing up for worship. Then, they eagerly study the question sheets,
provided by S.Jeff Lewis. This family worship also gives S.Mary a chance to
meditate on the word of God and deliver the message. I can say clearly that our
family is much more Godly and healthy in this new house church environment.
One concern we have in regard to our children is
their future schooling. We thank God who led us to one good school for the time
being. Ruth is in the 3rd grade and Anna is in the 1st
grade. But this present school ends at 4th grade. Then we must find
another school. As we prayed and investigated different options, we found a
very good school district which is only about 20 minutes away from Wayne State. We are discovering that Detroit is a city of stark contrasts. Some areas are
completely abandoned and poor, while only a few miles away there are very good,
wealthy areas. We are praying about the best way to resolve their school for
the future.
Third, One-to-one studies. One big question I had as we moved to Detroit, was “How to begin
one-to-one ministry?” I’ve discovered that God is the best coworker in this
area. When we prayed, God sent Bible students. After delivering a message on Acts 16 in Toledo UBF, God gave me a “Macedonian” vision of Wayne State students walking on campus saying, “Come over to help us!”. We began praying for a Timothy
of faith and a Lydia of faith to come to Bible study. We have yet to find such students,
but God is working to send Bible students. God sent Cassie and Niyanna to
S.Mary for a while. These days, God is sending Zhong Nie and Sabrina Nie. Zhong
studied for several months in Chicago, with S.Gideon Sherwin. He is in Detroit for a one year internship. His wife, Sabrina, may
study nursing at Wayne State. From last week, Zhong and I began studying
one-to-one. I thank God for his learning mind to understand every word and to
ask questions until he understands the passage. Student ministry and fishing
ministry are far from established, but we thank God who gave us this sign of
student ministry at Wayne State.
Fourth, prayer topics.
We
have three long-term prayer topics for ourselves and for our ministry. We pray to worship God acceptably, to study
Scripture ardently and to serve students faithfully. In light of these prayer topics, we have much
to learn. Especially, I cannot use the term “ardently” to describe our Bible
study. So please pray for us to study Scripture ardently.
Our ministry prayer topics are as follows: 1)
S.Brian may grow as a spirit-filled messenger of God’s word. 2)
One Timothy and one Lydia of faith may be raised from Wayne State students. 3) S.Mary may be accepted to the WSU PhD program in English
and be a PhD Shepherdess. 4) Our CBF ministry may be established and be useful
for growing Ruth, Anna and Noah as gospel coworkers in the Lord. 5) Christian
missionaries to the Muslim world may be raised through Detroit UBF. 6) Detroit may no longer be the most dangerous city in America, but the most holy city in America.
One Word: Worship God
acceptably.